House of the Vettii

Reconstruction of the peristyle (without fresco decor), made for

an exhibition in the Boboli Gardens, 2007

portico, with the more formal spaces opening onto it. Servants quarters are to one side o the atrium, arranged
round a small atrium of their own. The major fresco decorations enliven the peristyle and its living spaces (oeci)
and the triclinium or dining hall.
A drawing of paintings in the Ixion room

In the entrance foyer the prosperous and almost life-size

image of Priapus weighs his erection which protrudes
from beneath his tunic against a bag overowing with
coins in a set of scales that he holds. Throughout the
house, the decor is unied by the black backgrounds of
its large frescoed panels, in Pompeiian red and yellow framing, with fanciful architectural surrounds. Also
throughout the house were images of hermaphrodites
with the intention to ward o the Evil Eye of envy from
those who entered the home. In one oecus, a frieze at sitting height, in monochrome against black grounds, show
putti and infant psyches engaged in various trades, winemaking, goldsmithing or minting coins, perfume-pressing
and similar occupations. The most richly-decorated room
is a virtual picture gallery, with trompe l'oeil views of architecture.

In Pompeii one of the most famous of the luxurious residences (domus) is the so-called House of the Vettii, preserved like the rest of the Roman city by the eruption
of Vesuvius in 79 AD. The house is named for its owners, two successful freedmen: Aulus Vettius Conviva,
an Augustalis, and Aulus Vettius Restitutus.[1] Its careful
excavation[2] has preserved almost all of the wall frescos,
which were completed following the earthquake of 62
AD, in the manner art historians term the "Pompeiian
Fourth Style.

Plan

The House of the Vettii is located on a back street, opposite a bar. The house is built round two compluviums,
centers open to the sky, a dim atrium into which a visitor
would pass, coming from a small dark vestibule that led
from the street entrance,[3] and beyondperpendicular
to the entrance axisa daylit peristyle of uted Doric
columns surrounded on all sides by a richly frescoed

The peristyle was laid out symmetrically for an elaborate

water display. It had basins and fountains where carved
heads spat water into basins, and other sculpture, both
marble ones of Bacchus and satyrs and Paris carrying a
lamb[4] and three bronzes of cupids, each holding a goose
and a bunch of grapes. The statues were connected to lead
piping and spouted water. There are 14 jets of water.
1

5 FURTHER READING

4 See also
House of Sallust
House of the Faun

5 Further reading
R. Etienne, Pompeii. The Day a City Died (London
1986; 3rd ed. 1994)
R. Laurence, Roman Pompeii: Space and Society
(London, 1994)
A. Wallace-Hadrill, Houses and Society in Pompeii
and Herculaneum (Princeton, 1994)
Coordinates:
404507N
142904E
40.7520833333N 14.4845833333E

Mural of a ying gure in the House of the Vettii. Photograph

taken circa 1900, before modern restoration.

Notes

[1] Their identity was preserved in campaign-slogan grati

on the street front of the house. Two inscribed signet rings
were also found.
[2] The House of the Vettii was not one of the eighteenthcentury discoveries, which were ried for their museumworthy objects. It was excavated between September 1894
and January 1896. There is evidence that the house was
disturbed, perhaps looted, shortly after the eruption.
[3] Around the corner there is a second entrance, which led
to a shop that communicated with the rest of the house
through a narrow passage.
[4] This subject is often identied as a Christ

References
Butterworth, Alex and Ray Laurence. Pompeii: The
Living City. New York, St. Martins Press, 2005.
(Stoa.org) On-line companion to Penelope Mary Allison, Pompeian Households: House of the Vettii
John R. Clarke, Andrew Otwell, David Richard,
Denise Ketcham, Heather Matthews The House of
the Vettii at Pompeii: An Interactive Exploration of
Roman Art in the Domestic Sphere (currently inactive)

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1

Text

House of the Vettii Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House%20of%20the%20Vettii?oldid=634546175 Contributors: Warofdreams,

Wetman, D6, Ghirlandajo, Tabletop, Rjwilmsi, Ewlyahoocom, TeaDrinker, Geoharriman, Moe Epsilon, Wknight94, Udimu, Rakela,
Frenchwv, CSWarren, Neddyseagoon, JMK, Cydebot, Thijs!bot, Mikenorton, Cynwolfe, Tedickey, The Anomebot2, Lord Pheasant, CommonsDelinker, J.delanoy, Pharaoh of the Wizards, Katalaveno, Eubulides, Srogue, Kanga11788, ClueBot, RafaAzevedo, Dthomsen8, Addbot, Glane23, Luckas-bot, Dodo, Look2See1, Snakus Viper, FAM1885, ClueBot NG, Widr, Davidiad and Anonymous: 29

6.2

Images

File:Casa_dei_vettii_ixion.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Casa_dei_vettii_ixion.png License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Ricostruzione_del_giardino_della_casa_dei_vetii_di_pompei_(mostra_al_giardino_di_boboli,_2007)_04.JPG
Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Ricostruzione_del_giardino_della_casa_dei_vetii_di_pompei_%28mostra_al_
giardino_di_boboli%2C_2007%29_04.JPG License: CC BY 2.5 Contributors: Own work (my camera) Original artist: sailko
File:Winged-Vettii-Brogi.jpeg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Winged-Vettii-Brogi.jpeg License: Public domain Contributors: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ppmsca-015615 (digital le from original photograph), archival TIFF version (235 MB), cropped and converted to JPEG with the GIMP 2.4.5, image quality 85. Original artist: The
ancient author is unknown. This photograph of the ancient work is by Carlo Brogi (18501925). (The Library of Congress incorrectly
attributes it to his father, Giacomo Brogi, who died before the house of the Vettii was excavated)

6.3

Content license

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